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Government 2.0: Crowdsourced Beltway Pandits

This is part of an ongoing series about government 2.0 written by Dr. Mark Drapeau. To view previous posts in the series click here.

In his Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln mentioned that government is “of the people, by the people, [and] for the people,” but interestingly among all the feedback I have received, no one has pointed out that all of my writing on Government 2.0 has been about what the government itself is doing. What’s your role as a citizen?

Using the power of mass collaboration for public goodI had the opportunity to hear Anthony Williams, co-author of the best-selling book Wikinomics, speak at the National Defense University recently. He is very interested in using the power of mass collaboration for public good – including education, health care, science, government, democracy, international advocacy and national security – and this encompasses the spirit of Government 2.0 that I promote. In his public comments, he pointed out a number of areas where new social tools will enable citizens to increasingly participate in government.

When people think about applying social technology to government, they often think of using it internally to share information and aid decision-making. But one area Mr. Williams mentioned that I have also written about in my description of what “social government” might look like, is the notion of reducing the barriers to participation in government. This means everything from local leaders working with government during disasters, to small businesses more easily winning government contracts, to the U.S. Patent Office crowdsourcing their enormous backlog of technical patent applications through their “Peer to Patent” initiative.

Williams also had some interesting comments on “redrawing the division of labor in society” that I hadn’t previously given a lot of thought to. The idea is, if we can outsource toy-making to China and customer service to India, can we outsource aspects of health care to Sweden, or education to Japan? It might sound strange, but why couldn’t affordable specialist doctors in other countries look at our X-rays, and why can’t homeschooled American children learn from teachers abroad? And conversely – what might other countries outsource to the United States?

Participating on the WebThe authors of Wikinomics have created a participatory website about Government 2.0 where they blog about their ideas and relevant news stories, detail government “case studies” about social tools, and solicit ideas on various topics. These kinds of outsider efforts, also among them the terrific GovLoop social network that I belong to, are to be applauded. Steve Ressler, the founder of GovLoop, says that, “Citizen participation is where Government 2.0 gets really interesting – they can provide fresh perspectives that provide insight into the large problems that government agencies are attempting to solve.”

But frankly there are too many other people talking and not doing. One of my senior colleagues who has spent a lifetime in public service likes to come into my office and ask, “What have you done for your country today?” The question always gives me pause, and I hope it does for the reader as well.

At the Collaboration Project, a social community powered by the National Academy of Public Administration, they use the motto, “Ask not what your country can do for you; Ask what we can do together.” This is the right theme for moving forward with the next generation of government of, by, and for people like you. Rather than complain about Beltway Bandits, form a nation of Beltway Pandits.

Dr. Mark Drapeau is an Associate Research Fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy of the National Defense University in Washington, DC. These views are his own and not the official policy or position of any part of the U.S. Government. You can reach Mark by emailing Markd [at] mashable.com.

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